Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria (Queens of England, #3)

Genres

Reader's Thoughts

KOMET

It is very rare to find a writer who can fully engage the reader so that he/she feels that they are witness to a series of events as they are unfolding. Here Jean Plaidy tells a story of Queen Victoria's life in Victoria's own voice. Plaidy does it with such unerring skill that one can't help but wonder if Victoria herself had dictated this book to Plaidy. Here we are given access to the full sweep of Victoria's life, from her birth in 1819 (grand-daughter to George III), her unhappy childhood with a greedy, selfish and controlling mother, her ascension to the throne in 1837, her marriage to her beloved Albert in February 1840, her 9 children, the death of Albert in 1861 which left Victoria bereft for the rest of her life, and the growth of Britain and her Empire during Victoria's long reign. Reading this book was a delightful and enlightening experience. If only all history could be explained to students in such a compelling and personal way as Plaidy has done so well here, perhaps more of them would be more eager to study it.

gia

** spoiler alert **
What a frustrating book!When Victoria Victorious opens, the future Queen Victoria is a young girl living firmly under the thumb of her power-hungry mother and the manipulative John Conroy. The book promises to liberate Victoria.And so it does-- briefly. Before long she's married to Albert, who is every bit as firm and controlling as her mother once was! I gather that it's probably rather historically accurate, but it makes for a very frustrating read, as Victoria simpers and is convinced that she is always incorrect and Albert a saint. The only doubt she shows is towards the end, and it's slyly done, but not enough to make the frustration of the rest of the book disappear.In short: Victoria's story is perhaps too frustrating for an accurate depiction to also be a great novel of either the romantic or bildungsroman type.

Mandy Moody

My first book about Queen Victoria, also one of my favorite Plaidy's to date. I really enjoyed Victoria's portrayal - she was so human and likable. Plaidy's research is impeccable, especially when relating to a figure as recent as Victoria. I love knowing that everything I'm reading is closely based on fact.

Marianna Bowers

Was surprised to read this in the first person. Felt as though looking through Victoria's eyes of her life as she viewed it. Although one-sided in the "her" story form, it shows a young girl coming of age and having to deal with being a woman in a MAN's world. The difficulty being a Queen and no role model to emulate this "job". Even the Queen has to deal with the independence of children and their decisions not always being what she wants. I even through a tantrum when things don't go my way!!!!! As loving most things historical and adding the love of autobiographical, this went right up my alley.

Robin

This was a fairly decent book. I am not very interested in Queen Victoria but it was a good read and it was interesting to learn some more about her life. It is a long book, so if you don't like long ones this probably isn't for you. It covers from her childhood, through her ascension to the throne, her marriage, all the way up to right before her death.

Shelly Benson

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Queen Victoria. I don't know a lot about her. I frequently cringed to think that Albert and Victoria were even a little jealous of their own children. Victoria of Vicky because of Albert's love for her and Albert of Bertie because of Bertie's precedence over Albert. This novel spans Victoria's lifetime and out of necessity skims over a lot of information. Jean Plaidy never let's me down...

Linda Richwine

I have read dozens of Jean Plaidy's books and loved them all, including this one. This was my first literary exposure to Queen Victoria and I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting her life was and, as a result, have read two more books related to her life and family. Take a chance on this book -- I think you will be glad you did.

Vanessa Tillery

This book follows the life of Queen Victoria of England. She is fourth in line for the throne but beats the odds and becomes Queen. Victoria marries her cousin Albert from Germany. She falls greatly in love with him and is devastated by his death.

Whoduknit

I enjoyed learning a bit more about Victoria, although I found the diary entries to very often be repetitive, so much so that by the end I wanted to skip ahead bit. Also, I don't know a tremendous amount about Albert, but if this book has any truth to it, he sounds like a bit of a jerk.

Danielle

An absolutely lovely novel.Plaidy captures Victoria elegantly, expressing her life from being the daughter of the Duke of Kent to being heir presumptive and Queen. We follow Victoria through her 'storms' and see her change from a rather moody lady to a more reserved and even-tempered Queen through her 'saintly' husband, Albert.I loved this novel, I felt as though it was Victoria and her thoughts. Brilliant to read.

Olivia

Overall this was an entertaining and informative read. Plaidy pulls off a good first person narrative. I have to admire her just for that! She focuses more on the personal rather than the political life of Queen Victoria. It was refreshing to read about an English monarch who didn't have a totally dysfunctional personal/family life (although I will admit that dysfunction can make for a good story). While I enjoyed learning about her as a person, I wouldn't of minded learning a little bit more about her political inclinations. I'm very curious about her position on The Opium Wars and the abolition of slavery. I'm going to have to do some independent research.

Mullgirl

Nope. Un-unh. Sigh. This was another book that I started completely willing to love it, and it disappointed greatly. I think I really wanted to like it because Jean Plaidy is such a prolific author and I like most of the subject matter she treats (various historical British royalty). But I was so put out that I’m not sure I can give her another go.Victoria Victorious is a novel covering the life of Queen Victoria. Now, admittedly, Plaidy uses one of my least favorite story-telling devices–the journal, and maybe that’s the source of my discontent. Or maybe it’s just Vicky herself. What a lorded over weenie. I could understand it more if she had been the first queen of England–she might legitimately feel like she would still have to be a shrinking violet. But jeez mon! Elizabeth I sort of set it up for Vicky to feel free to let her loose. And she was so, so… excessively disappointing. Was there any point in her life where she wasn’t completely governed by some man that she revered? Sigh.So, maybe Plaidy doesn’t suck if I come out of the book hating Vicky as much as I did?? Couldn’t she have condensed it though? Seriously, it went on and on and on and on and on … you get the idea. The diary format let it feel like one endless whine. And the inability to cut that puppy down will likely be what stops me from reading anything further from Plaidy.I can’t think of more to rant on. It was marginal. If you’re a Victoria fan, stay away from it, Plaidy clearly thinks similarly to me on the level of Vicky’s weenieness.

Camilla

This book suffers from being TOO accurate, if that makes sense. Plaidy really and truly captures Victoria's voice as she tells of her life, but that doesn't mean her voice is something I want to hear. She constantly describes things as "dear" or with other such epithets. Every time she expresses herself or recalls a scene it is overflowing with emotion. Her first Prime Minister Lord Melbourne seems to CONSTANTLY have tears in his eyes because his emotions for her are SO overpowering, and she is just SO touched about it that she cries TOO... And once Albert comes around, forget it. It's nothing but "Dearest Albert! He was so handsome! The duets we played at the pianoforte! The way his eyes sparkled! How could anyone else even COMPARE????" Which is all to Plaidy's credit, of course, for most people know that Albert WAS the focal point of Victoria's life from the moment they met as teenagers and married. He was her shining Galahad and NO ONE could ever take the shine off him, especially after he died and became, as a consequence, immortally remembered as her knight on a white horse. But to me, the overabundance of emotion Victoria attached to everything up to and especially Albert became annoying and frustrating. I lost interest and don't intend to finish this book, no matter how much I begrudgingly admire Plaidy's ability to immerse her writing so thoroughly "in character."A much better book on Victoria and Albert is "We Two" by Gillian Gill. Highly recommended!

Missie

I didn't know anything about Queen Victoria other than what I saw on the show "Doctor Who" - fictional shows should never be used to learn about people! While some of the book was unrealistic (the queen used the word "awesome" to describe something - that word definitely didn't exist in the 1800's), it was a nice look into a strong woman leader. She was ruled by the men around her, but she knew how to put her foot down when it mattered. Not the first book I've read by Jean Plaidy, and probably won't be the last.

Taylor

Victoria Victorious by Jean Plaidy is the eleventh novel in Plaidy’s Queens of England series. It’s told in Victoria’s point of view, which makes it sort of her memoir. I did enjoy this book to a point. However, I found it a bit dry in some parts. Mainly, I found the political aspect of this book to be boring. What I really enjoyed most about the book was getting to know young Victoria as the Princess living under her mother’s rule in the Kensington Palace. Victoria was so quick witted as a child and she really pulled at everyone’s heart strings. You just couldn’t help but sympathize with her. She was kept in pretty much a prison and hardly ever allowed to visit her very own Uncle the King of England who became very fond of little Vicky. In her entire life there were seven attempts at her life and she tried very hard to not let it bother her. I also enjoyed the courting of young Prince Albert and Victoria. Albert was truly perfect. He put up with Victoria’s “storms” of anger and did not let it affect their marriage. Although this is not my favorite Plaidy novel I did enjoy it. Queen Victoria was truly a strong woman and was the longest reigning British Queen. She reigned for sixty years. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the ups and downs of Victoria’s life. She really was an inspiration.For more of my reviews visit my historical fiction site: http://allthingshistoricalfiction.blo...